Malta and the Netherlands registered victories in yesterday’s four-match programme. The Maltese beat Israel while in the evening first match the Dutch had the better of Sette Scogli 16-7.
In the last clash of the day, Karl Izzo’s team managed a 13-11 victory over Israel to retain second spot in the table alongside the Netherlands despite an inferior goal difference.
It was a satisfactory performance by the locals despite some evident flaws in extra-man sets when they failed seven of the nine occasions.
This was atoned by effective blocking and another five-star performance from captain Niki Lanzon, scorer of five goals.
It was 6-4 at the halfway stage a lead which was twice extended to five goals before the visitors closed the gap.
In the morning matches, the Netherlands scored an easy 18-5 win over Israel, with Robin Lindhout and Alex Roelse scoring seven (for a 14-goal tally for the day) and five goals respectively, while Great Britain had the better of CC Sette Scogli 11-8.
Results
Malta 13
Israel 11
(4-2, 2-2, 4-2, 3-5)
Malta : A. Borg Cole, N. Lanzon 5, J. Gabaretta 1, T. Sullivan 1, M. Meli 1, M. Zammit 2, J. Camilleri 1, J. Brownrigg 1, D. Zammit 1.
Netherlands 18
Israel 5
(4-2, 3-1, 8-1, 3-1)
Great Britain 11
Cc Sette Scogli 8
(1-1, 4-3, 3-0, 3-4)
Netherlands 16
CC Sette Scogli 7
(4-2, 4-1, 5-2, 3-2)